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Shaun Marsh. How is he getting a Test? Are the selectors thinking of persisting with him for the West Indies or England?
If so it’s a joke. Yes, he just got a Test 99 in Melbourne and a 73 in Sydney, but he finished with an average of 42.33 for the series.
In isolation these numbers look respectable.
But when you compare his output with that of the series’ other batsmen, it’s decidedly less flattering. Overall, 10 players had a higher average than Marsh in the recent series between Australia and India – four Indians and six Aussies.
Nine of those 10 had an average over 50 for the series and nine had a superior strike rate to Marsh. In other words the batting was easy and Marsh actually struggled.
When you watch him play, the guy has a classical technique, hits with power and looks to have all time in the world.
Last time I checked though, cricket was about scoring runs and taking wickets. It is not gymnastics or synchronised swimming where you are judged for form and style.
Sure, we all admire those traits in cricketers. In fact, form and style are some of the aspects that get fans through the turnstiles.
Seeing a sublime cover drive from Michael Hussey or a perfectly timed pull shot from Ricky Pointing is a thrill for sure, but above all else, punters want big centuries and to see their team win.
The main reasons players play is to win games. Marsh is no match winner.
It is often said of Marsh he looks to be one of the most gifted batsmen in the country. No arguments there. But the numbers tell a sobering tale.
His First Class batting average of 36.99 with a poor conversion rate of 12 hundreds and 28 half centuries from 97 outings are underwhelming. Oh, and he’s 31.
If he was the pick of the bunch, then you’d cop his seemingly strange selection to the Test team. He’s not.
Ed Cowan, George Bailey, David Hussey and Adam Voges all have a better average than Marsh; though to be fair they are all older than him.
Then there’s Mark Cosgrove, Cameron White, Cullum Ferguson, Rob Quiney. All four of these guys have a superior average in first class cricket to Shaun Marsh and are around the same age or a bit younger.
But wait there is more.
Joe Burns, Nick Maddinson, Chris Lynn, Ryan Carters, Tom Cooper, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell.
Seven blokes with a better average than Marsh, and all younger than the Test batsman — some eight years his junior.
Is he the future? Not at 31 he’s not. Do his numbers at Test level warrant his selection? Nope.
Is he beating the door down with First Class hundred after First Class hundred? Sadly, no. So what the bloody hell is going on?
His 99 in Melbourne and 73 in Sydney will almost certainly see him on the plane to the West Indies.
If form is anything to go by, he’ll have a lean trot and miss out on the tour to England.
If selection form is anything to go by, he’ll be back in the Test team for the start of the 2015-16 Australian summer after a gutsy 62 and 34 in the opening Sheffield Shield game.
Now, don’t even get me started on Shane Watson at three.
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